1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system of utilizing an automobile key, particularly for an essentially keyless operation, and wherein wireless operation of the key incorporates safety features preventing the inadvertent locking of the key in the automotive vehicle upon exiting therefrom.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Normally, especially when utilizing automobile keys for older vehicles or new but less expensive vehicle types, these are inserted into a slot on the dashboard in order to be able to start the engine, while the key remains in the ignition into which it has been inserted in order to start the engine, and operate the vehicle. Upon accession, the driver may forget the keys (among other property) in the vehicle, and may manually lock the automobile doors by instinct and be locked out upon exiting the vehicle.
In contrast with the foregoing, keys, which are generally utilized in opening front doors of houses or offices, are much less frequently forgotten than automobile keys. This is because in the process of opening a door to a house or an office, the key holder is generally in a standing or upright position, and this is visibly conducive to drawing the key out of the door lock, and placing the key into his or her pocket, purse or pocketbook. In contrast with the foregoing, in the process of exiting an automobile, subsequent to a turning off of the ignition, the driver has to wait to get out of the automobile to be able to comfortably reach into his or her pocket, purse or pocketbook, and, as a consequence, may have a tendency to turn the ignition off and then leave the keys on the seat to pick up and remove other articles from the vehicle interior or trunk, attend to children in the vehicle, and, thus, possibly forget that the key has been left on the seat, or even in the ignition which has been deactivated. The driver may then lock the automobile by either manually actuating a lock switch on the interior of the door and then swinging the door into a closed position, or possibly the door may be of the type automatically self-locking upon the expiration of a brief period of time. Utilizing the vehicle lock switch, which is normally located on the inside of the vehicle door, is typically easier than being required to insert a key into a keyhole in order to lock the door, thereby potentially leading to a habitual practice, which has a tendency to cause the user or driver to be locked out of his or her automobile.
More recently, the automotive industry has, to some extent, solved the problem of the key being inadvertently left and forgotten in its inserted condition in the ignition system, by the development of a wireless keyless vehicle entry systems, whereby in the employment of such systems, the user does not have to insert the key into the ignition to start the vehicle. In this connection, the key is equipped with a therewith integrated wireless subsystem that can readily communicate with the vehicle and wirelessly activate a keyless automobile start mechanism upon verifying that the key is in a close range, for example, within a distance of a few feet from the vehicle. The user then has to manually press a start button of the ignition system to turn on the engine of the vehicle. During this sequence of events, the key can remain or be placed in the pocket or purse of the user, i.e., the driver of the vehicle. At the end of the journey the driver can turn off the engine by pressing the start button again or by pressing a separate button. The key is likely to be in the driver's pocket or purse since it was not inserted into the ignition at all. All authentications for effectuating the operations are implemented by wireless communication. Although such systems are clearly deemed to be convenient, the reliance on wireless technology reduces or may even imperil the security and privacy thereof if utilized with unique static identifiers, such as with passive RFID tags, as known in the art. The wireless remote-controlled functioning of such keys may enable an unauthorized person to possibly receive and copy the authorization code or information, so as to gain unlawful access to the vehicle and initiate the operation thereof. Even with this technology it is possible to for the key to be left behind in the automobile if the driver has a manual option to lock the automobile that does not require a key when getting out, such as depressing a lever on the interior of the door and swinging the door shut. Another shortcoming is that if after shutting off the engine the driver leaves the car with the key in the car and does not lock the door, say while at a gas station to pick up something quickly from the gas station store, a thief can jump in, start the automobile and get away. This event is more likely to happen with this type of automobile key since the user does not need the key to shut the engine off and therefore likely to consciously remember that the key is still in the car.